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Capt. Lee Joon Seok defends his order to delay the evacuation of his sinking ferry

Boat after boat, body after body from a capsized South Korean ferry came ashore Sunday morning, a solemn process interrupted by piercing cries and screams from passengers' kin.

The wrenching scene came after four police boats arrived in rapid succession. The first carried four bodies. The second boat had three more, likewise the third and fourth.

Each body was taken onto a stretcher on the dock in Jindo, draped in cloth. After an inspection, they were carried along a path guarded by police -- who themselves shed tears -- and past even more outwardly emotional family members.

These relatives cried and, in some cases, yelled loudly, clearly overtaken by the moment.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A relative of a victim weeps as she and others stand on the deck of a boat during a visit to the site of the sunken Sewol ferry on April 15, 2015 -- one day before the one year anniversary of the disaster.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A relative hands out flowers to others on the deck of a boat during a visit to the site of the sunken ferry. More than 100 relatives of victims of South Korea's Sewol ferry disaster tearfully cast flowers into the sea.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A man hold a flower as he stands on the deck of a boat during a visit to the site of the sunken Sewol ferry, off the coast of South Korea's southern island of Jindo.

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South Korean ferry sinks – The mother of Sewol ferry disaster victim, Danwon High School student Lim Kyung-Bin, attends a rally to pay tribute to the victims of the ferry disaster on April 11, 2015, Seoul, South Korea.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster march across a bridge over the Han river in Seoul on April 5, 2015. More than 200 people participated in the march from Ansan city. Many of them were the parents of the 250 students who died when the overloaded ferry sank off Jindo on April 16, 2014.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Relatives of victims of the Sewol ferry hold portraits of victims during a rally on April 5, 2015 in Seoul. Relatives, students and citizens attended the vigil to pay tribute to the victims of the ferry disaster and demanded that the wreckage be salvaged.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Sewol ferry captain Lee Joon-Seok was acquitted of murder, avoiding a death sentence, but was sentenced to 36 years in jail on November 11 for his role in the maritime disaster that killed more than 300.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Shoes believed to belong to the missing and the deceased are on display at the harbor.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Jindo harbor, where the search operation is based, has become a memorial for those who lost their lives. Yellow ribbons and photos are displayed as people come to pay their respects.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A joint government-civilian task force is still looking for the missing, but winter is fast approaching.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Ten are still missing from tragic ferry sinking last April, which killed more than 300. Six months later, families are still waiting for their loved ones to be found. The parents of 16-year-old Huh Da-yoon, pictured, are among them.

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South Korean ferry sinks – The families of the ten who remain missing have been waiting in Jindo Indoor Gymnasium since the first day. Families can watch search mission in real time on a large monitor in the gym.

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South Korean ferry sinks – South Korean President Park Geun-hye weeps while delivering a speech to the nation about the sunken ferry Sewol at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, May 19. More than 200 bodies have been found and nearly 100 people remain missing after the ferry sank April 16 off South Korea's southwest coast.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Police in Seoul detain a protester during a march Saturday, May 17, for victims of the Sewol.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A girl in Seoul holds a candle during a service paying tribute to the victims of the Sewol on Wednesday, April 30.

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South Korean ferry sinks – People pay tribute to victims at a memorial altar in Ansan, South Korea, on Tuesday, April 29.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A police officer holds an umbrella for a relative of a missing ferry passenger Monday, April 28, in Jindo, South Korea.

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South Korean ferry sinks – South Korean Buddhists carry lanterns in a parade in Seoul on Saturday, April 26, to honor the memory of the dead and the safe return of the missing.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Divers search for people in the waters near Jindo on April 26.

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South Korean ferry sinks – People in Ansan attend a memorial for the victims on April 26.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A diver jumps into the sea near the sunken ferry on Friday, April 25.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A relative of a passenger weeps while waiting for news of his missing loved one at a port in Jindo on April 25.

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South Korean ferry sinks – People attend a memorial for the victims at the Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan on Thursday, April 24.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Yellow ribbons honoring the victims flap in the wind as a hearse carrying a victim's body leaves Danwon High School in Ansan on April 24. Most of the people on board the ferry were high school students on their way to the resort island of Jeju.

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South Korean ferry sinks – People attend a memorial for the victims at Olympic Memorial Hall in Ansan.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Search personnel dive into the sea on Wednesday, April 23.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Flares light up the search area on Tuesday, April 22.

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South Korean ferry sinks – The sun sets over the site of the sunken ferry on April 22.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A relative of a ferry passenger prays as she waits for news in Jindo on April 22.

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South Korean ferry sinks – The search for victims continues April 22 in the waters of the Yellow Sea.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Rescue workers in Jindo carry the body of a passenger on Monday, April 21.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Divers jump into the water on April 21 to search for passengers near the buoys that mark the site of the sunken ferry.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Search operations continue as flares illuminate the scene near Jindo on Sunday, April 20.

South Korean ferry sinks – Relatives of passengers look out at the sea from Jindo on April 20.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Police officers in Jindo stand guard Saturday, April 19, to prevent relatives of the ferry's missing passengers from jumping in the water. Some relatives said they will swim to the shipwreck site and find their missing family members by themselves.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Family members of missing passengers hug as they await news of their missing relatives at Jindo Gymnasium on April 19.

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South Korean ferry sinks – South Korean Navy Ship Salvage Unit members prepare to salvage the sunken ferry and search for missing people on April 19.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Lee Joon Suk, the captain of the Sewol, is escorted to the court that issued his arrest warrant Friday, April 18, in Mokpo, South Korea.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A woman cries as she waits for news on missing passengers April 18 in Jindo.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A searchlight illuminates the capsized ferry on Thursday, April 17.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A woman cries during a candlelight vigil at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea, on April 17.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Family members of passengers aboard the sunken ferry gather at a gymnasium in Jindo on April 17.

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South Korean ferry sinks – The body of a victim is moved at a hospital in Mokpo on April 17.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Relatives of a passenger cry at a port in Jindo on April 17 as they wait for news on the rescue operation.

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South Korean ferry sinks – South Korean coast guard members and rescue teams search for passengers at the site of the sunken ferry on April 17.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A relative of a passenger cries as she waits for news on Wednesday, April 16.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Relatives check a list of survivors April 16 in Jindo.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Rescue crews attempt to save passengers from the ferry on April 16.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A relative waits for a missing loved one at the port in Jindo.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Parents at Danwon High School search for names of their children among the list of survivors. Ansan is a suburb of Seoul, the South Korean capital.

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South Korean ferry sinks – Helicopters hover over the ferry as rescue operations continue April 16.

South Korean ferry sinks – A passenger is helped onto a rescue boat on April 16.

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South Korean ferry sinks – A passenger is rescued from the sinking ship on April 16.

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EXPAND GALLERY

The arrival of the 13 bodies corresponds with the South Korean coast guard's announcement, a short time earlier, that the death toll had increased by that number, up to 50. But few expect it to stop there.

While 174 were rescued shortly after the vessel sunk Wednesday, there have been none saved since despite extensive, exhaustive searches by air, from ships and by divers plunging into the frigid waters and ideally inside the now completely submerged ship itself.

The number of those unaccounted for stood at 252 early Sunday.

Relatives of some of them gathered in Jindo -- the nearest port to the wreckage some 12 miles (20 kilometers) away -- were asked earlier in the weekend to submit DNA samples.

Ship's captain defends evacuation

As divers and others scrambled to retrieve yet more bodies, details are trickling in about what happened the day the ferry capsized.

Capt. Lee Joon Seok defended his order to delay the evacuation of his sinking ferry, CNN affiliate YTN reported early Saturday.

Lee was charged with abandoning his boat, negligence, causing bodily injury, not seeking rescue from other ships and violating "seamen's law," state media reported.

He appeared before reporters in handcuffs.

"Mr. Lee is charged with causing the Sewol ship to sink by failing to slow down while sailing the narrow route and making (a) turn excessively," prosecutor Lee Bong-chang told the semiofficial Yonhap news agency.

"Lee is also charged with failing to do the right thing to guide the passengers to escape and thereby leading to their death or injury."

If convicted, he faces from five years to life in prison.

Lee wasn't at the helm of the Sewol when it started to sink; a third mate was at the helm, a prosecutor said.

Where was thecaptain?

The captain was not in the steering room when the accident occurred, according to police and his own account. He was in his cabin.

A crew member, described as the third mate and identified only as Park, appeared in handcuffs with Lee.

Park is facing charges including negligence and causing injuries leading to deaths, said Yang Joong Jin, a maritime police spokesman.

A technician with the surname Cho is also facing the same charges, he said.

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Lee answered questions as he left a court hearing Saturday.

"The tidal current was strong and water temperature was cold, and there was no rescue boat," he told reporters, according to CNN affiliate YTN. "So I had everyone stand by and wait for the rescue boat to arrive."

He said he plotted the ship's course, and then went to his cabin briefly "to tend to something." It was then, he said, the accident happened.

The third mate, who was at the helm of the ship when Lee left, said she did not make a sharp turn, but "the steering turned much more than usual."

The captain was one of at least 174 people rescued soon after the Sewol began to sink, violating an "internationally recognized rule that a captain must stay on the vessel," maritime law attorney Jack Hickey said.

"Pretty much every law, rule, regulation and standard throughout the world says that yes, the captain must stay with the ship until all personnel are safely off of the ship, certainly passengers."

More ships, aircraft

Hopes of finding the missing alive dimmed further when the entire boat became submerged Friday. Until then, part of the ship's blue-and-white hull was still poking out of the frigid waters of the Yellow Sea.

The coast guard said workers continued to pump air into the hull of the submerged ship, but could not stop its descent. The ferry boat sank 10 meters (33 feet) farther below the surface of the Yellow Sea overnight, Maritime Police told CNN Saturday.

South Korean officials said Saturday they are sending in 176 ships, 28 aircraft and 652 divers to take part in the search and rescue efforts.